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Oncology outreach: Making the right connections

When deciding where to send a patient for specialized cancer care, what factors do you consider? Chances are you’re looking for a specialist with the unique knowledge, expertise and experience to treat your patient’s condition, as well as someone who will care for your patient as you would. The challenge, of course, is determining who that expert might be.

At University of Minnesota Physicians Cancer Care, the oncology outreach team is there to help you make the right connections. Julie Mikkelson, Cindy Koslowski, Melinda Arvold and Melinda Baxter (pictured at right) comprise our oncology outreach team. Together, they work with physicians and referral coordinators around the five-state region to help build relationships and connections between referring physicians and experts at University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital and UMPhysicians Cancer Care at Fairview locations in Edina, Maple Grove, Princeton and Wyoming.

With extensive knowledge of the various disease teams and the services provided throughout the cancer program, the outreach team plays a vital role in helping you to connect with the right adult or pediatric specialists for both blood-based and solid tumors. The team also plays a vital role in helping to keep you informed of any new providers who’ve joined our team, advances in new treatment programs and new clinical trial opportunities. In addition, the team can provide information on ancillary cancer services such as genetic testing, palliative care, cancer rehabilitation and more.

The oncology outreach team can also work with you to bring the physicians and educational programs right to you. This is an important and convenient service that enables you and your team to get to know our cancer care specialists personally, and to learn about the advantages in partnering with our cancer experts to help care for your patients.

When you schedule a visit from our outreach team, they can outline the program benefits and customize a presentation by one of our physicians on topics that are of high interest to you and your care team. Whether you’re interested in grand rounds, case studies or a lunch-and-learn session—the team will customize a session to meet your individual needs.

The team will also work with you to identify any barriers that may prevent you from making a seamless referral to one of our clinics. Referring providers often have questions about who to connect with in order to begin the referral process and how to bridge the relationship between their patient and the specialist to whom they are being referred. We encourage you to contact our outreach team so that we can find a solution and build a strong and collaborative working relationship with you and your tream.

If you are interested in having one of our outreach professionals visit your hospital or clinic, go to umpcancer.org or contact us directly: Melinda Arvold: 612-706-4569 Julie Mikkelson: 612-706-4568 Melinda Baxter: 612-273-2828 Cindy Koslowski: 612-672-4184